The Punisher

Here's a few hundred ways I'd hate to die.

Beyond the points, keeping a crook alive isn't a bad idea if you want some extra body armor. Criminals make for excellent human shields though they force the Punisher to wield only one weapon. There are dozens of enemies in every level and it seems there's five or six around every corner, so human shields are very important. Should you decide you want to discard your shield, you can always go for a quick kill. These murders cycle randomly and depend on the type of weapon you're wielding, but most involve a bullet in your human shield's noggin.

Though human shields are essential to survival and also fun to use, there are some issues. First, you can't change weapons with a human shield in hand, meaning you have to kill them if you want to change guns. The more pressing problem is the inability to aim low. Sure, you can aim the reticule down, but when it gets below the waist, the reticule stops making any sense at all. This can become a real problem in the later levels that feature a lot of stairs. The reticule and the muzzle do not synch up at a certain point unless you ditch your shield, which can be pretty annoying. Fortunately, the Punisher is a relatively easy game, so even with a shield, you can get through almost any situation.

Old-Fashioned Killing The problem with special locations for interrogations is that they can't be in every single room you enter. This means that for much of The Punisher you must resort to old-fashioned killing. Thank goodness you can heft two .50 caliber machineguns! Look forward to grenades, a flamethrower, a shotgun, a half-dozen different side arms, a grenade launcher and many more tools of destruction.

Though it can be a hoot to char-broil an enemy or to mow down some goons with your AK, it feels incredibly ordinary in comparison to those "special" moments. There are times when you go through chunks of game without any sweet ways to lay down death. Since there's no location-specific damage, you can't amuse yourself with shooting people in the kneecap.

Fortunately, there are still a few ways to get up-close and personal with someone's face and have some amusement. Get near any enemy at any time and you can perform a quick kill. Like the quick kills performed on hostages, these are randomly selected based on the weapon at hand. Most of these murders involve your knife -- either sticking it in the top of someone's head or turning a dude's melon into a corn on the cob with your two blades. These are pretty humorous and gloriously bloody, but there aren't that many of them, so over time they actually become sort of tame. "Oh, just stuck my knife through a guy's forehead, sigh."

One of the best slayings around comes when you pick up a butcher knife off a table. Quick kill an enemy and you bury the knife halfway in his face, leaving him to stumble a moment and fall. It's quite a riot. And really, if you aren't laughing by now, then The Punisher is definitely not the game for you.

Your last hope for causing widespread death is to become enraged. As the punisher kills and interrogates, his rage meter builds. At any time you can hit the proper button and go into berserker mode. This turns the screen black and white (yes, I know it sucks, but learn to deal) and turns the Punisher into an unbelievable force to be reckoned with. Wielding his knives, the Punisher moves quickly and provides head-popping deaths and savage stabbings. The more you kill, the longer you stay enraged and the more you heal.

You know, it's kind of amazing with all his killing that the Punisher never gets a smidge of blood on his cool leather jacket.

You're Not the Boss of Me Though The Punisher features some inspired scenes of death, it is still designed as your standard action game. As such, there are a number of bosses that must be fought at the end of different missions. Most of the boss battles tend to be pretty boring, but there are a few that manage to deliver on the visceral excitement seen throughout the rest of The Punisher.